Kids Smart - Omega-3 Fish Oil Burstlets - Trio product reviews

With three children of varying ages, and different tastes, I was excited to find the Kids Smart Fish Oil Trio at our local pharmacy. The price was a little more than what I would normally wish to spend on fish oil, but I had read so much on the benefits and as they came in a pack with 3 colors/flavors I really wanted to try them out on my lot.

My middle child suffers from memory issues, and struggles on a daily basis so I was extremely keen to see if these would aid with his memory, like fish oil claims.

Ok so 60 caplets in a box for around $25 - $30 depending on where purchased is not bad. Sure you can get plain fish oil caps (100 caps for $19.99) which is great for adults, but for kids... nowhere near as exciting as the Kids Smart ones. My children could not wait to get started, which was fantastic, as most kids would prefer to stay away from medicines and pills and the like.

The orange and strawberry ones are so yummy (yes I tried them), the blackcurrant are ok but a little strong. The kids prefer the orange and the strawberry, and these were the first to go in the box.

After a month we noticed some changes with our children, whether these are a direct result of the fish-oil is hard to say though, however:

Master 10 has his oil daily and I admit he seems a much more relaxed and approachable child but if he doesnt take his for a couple days then by the end of the 2nd day he is a grumpy little toe rag, dont know if this is a result of the fish oil but def worth noting i thought.

Miss 4 has hers every second day and seems to spend a little longer with any tasks she approaches.

And master 9, also takes his daily and most definitely there has been an improvement in his memory. We are not losing so many socks at school and he is remembering to bring home his school bag and lunch box which is fantastic.

The only downside i could see (and not a major really): With these they actually began requesting their fish oil with their brekkie. Given this could possibly be a downfall, as it could mean some children may search for them, and take more than they really should. The exciting colors and flavors could also mean younger children could mistake them for lollies.

I started my daughter on these at age 18mths (under close supervison due to the capsule) and she loved them! All flavours have been a hit with her. Value for money. Since sampling these I will continue to purchase them as she now requests them everyday. Fantastic product.

My son loves consuming his daily omega 3, I believe he thinks its a treat. Being able to now get three different flavours in the same pack is a real bonus and he enjoys every one.

These are very appealing to my 3 and a half year old son. He started to demand to have his 2 fish a day! The 3 different flavors are fantastic good variety to mix it up each day. I have seen a small improvement in my sons behavior and will be continuing him on the fish caplets. He enjoyed the shape and the 'pop' he got when he chewed on them. A great way to keep up your child's brain activity.

My grandson who is 6 has been trialling the fish oil and I would highly recommend it. He is a very hyperactive child and is classed as being slightly autistic. His mother seems to believe the product as made certain changes in him.

After the great results we saw when we had our eldest son on the Forest Fruits variety we were expecting a continuation of the improvements in his behaviour, attention span and general overall health. Sure enough, the effects were consistent and positive. However, the flavours were completely unexpected. Favoured amongst the kids was the Blackcurrent, with Strawberry rating the lowest as 'too fake and sweet'. However, personally I didn't like any of them much... they all gave me distinct 'oily' aftertaste that I found unpleasant. Thankfully, the kids, the target market, didn't care in the least. Both our boys happily gobble any of them available.

Packed in blisterpacks, these are easier to keep track of and monitor usage, which is an important factor if your kids treat them like lollies. However, though the blister pack help maintain their softness and chewiness, I found that this made them particularly prone to splitting when you try to free them from the pack. A real catch-22 on the production front I can imagine... too dry and tough if bottled, too soft and easily popped if blisterpacked... Simple answer: Deal with it. Both options have their pros and cons and it's up to the consumer to figure out which works best for them.

Quantity is better, at the full 60 meaning 2 per day for an average month... however with the 50-pack costing 40c per burstlet, these cost a little more at nearly 42c each. It adds up over time. To help stretch the pennies a little further, we started a policy of one 'generic el-cheapo' caplet in the mornings and one BioGlan caplet at night before teeth-brushing. Thiis means that a healthy dose of Omega-3 a day costs us around 50c instead of nearly a dollar a day.

Overall, not as pleasing as the original flavours, but variety sure has helped the kids get into them in a big way, hopfully setting long-term good diet habits that will see them through life.

I found these are very well packaged, colourful and the blister packs are very convenient and easy to use. Having 60 in a box is convenient too, they last at least a month.

The flavours are yummy, my favourite being the blackcurrant, followed by the orange. The strawberry is a bit sweet. I love the chewiness of the capsule, although they leave an aftertaste in your mouth, think it may be artificial sweetner as I have tasted it before.

My preschoolers initial reaction was 'yummy lollies', then he bit into it and didnt like the oil drizzling out of them, think he would prefer a harder 'lolly' type. Thats why I rated low for the effectiveness as I cant get him to eat them. My 11 year old loves the flavour of them, but wont chew the capsule part, he spits it out, At least he will drink the oil.

What more could you ask for, a product that gives kids the essential omega3 vitamins and is great tasting and can be used as a treat because they just cant get enough. Not all the flavours are as appealing as others, we found the orange to be quite strong and a bit artificial tasting. There probably is also a bit too much packaging for this age where we are supposed to be looking out for the environment. But all and all a great kid friendly product.

I have reviewed this brand of fish oil caplets before and so this review is really about the improvements.
I thought that the packaging is great, the box is funny, bright and attractive. The blister packs are such a great idea for several reasons. The caplets stay fresher and arent so chewy after having been open for a while like when they were in the bottle. I also like the blister pack because it is much easier to keep track of how many have been taken and lessens the likelihood of the children taking them when Im not looking.
However....about the flavours. Out of five children, I now have one who wont eat any, one who eats all and any of them, and three who have preferences. Only one child will eat the purple or blackcurrent flavour. The reason being, with the blackcurrent, is the fishy taste is just too strong. The orange is extremely sweet, a little too sweet I would say, and the strawberry is definately the winner in the flavour stakes.
I still think that these caplets are good value for money but I would definitely like to see more improvement on the flavours. Something a little less artificial tasting and more like a natural fruit flavour maybe.

After reviewing the last Kids Smart Oil burstlets I was pleased to see they have made some improvements. Firstly the packaging is attractive and more user friendly. The blister pack keep the burstlets fresher and good for travelling. The capsules I see are made out of potato starch as apposed to gelatin. They seem slightly softer which is an issue I had with the last ones being too hard. The different flavours are great - my daughter can't wait to choose her fish for the day. Interestingly enough she always wants the orange which I think is the most artificial flavoured one - but it is so brightly coloured and sweet - perhaps thats the attraction? I liked the blackcurrant best - most realistic flavour and not too sweet. Strawberry was still a wee bit fishy tasting but I liked the softer colour capsule. My only concerns are that perhaps the packaging might encourage interest in other medicines e.g. panadol, strepsils that look similar and the use of artificial sweetners? Otherwise a fantastic product - my daughter does not eat dairy so I will definately try the Calcium ones as well.

All the flavours smell and have realisitic colourings to match the appropriate flavours, however I feel that the burstlets were very sweet and I wonder if the Omega-3 is naturally sweet or if an artificial sweetner has been used?

I was attracted to this product as it has a full months worth of product, and that it is in a handy blister pack that is perfect for travellers and it also keeps the product fresher.

I found the blackcurrent flavour the best. It hid any trace of a fishy taste.

The orange flavour did taste orange however the sweetness overrode the flavour quite a bit. In saying that it overrode the fishy taste too.

The strawberry flavour was the flavour I did not like. I found it very fake, sweet and fishy. There was only a tinge of strawberry taste.

I'm not sure if it's the shape, colour, or flavour that atrracts my daughter to them, however she asks for her fishys many times a day, so they are now hidden as she goes looking for them!

Bioglan have released a pack of flavoured fish oils with different flavours in each pack and so it only seems reasonable to list each flavour separately for the purpose of this review.

From reading the pack, I can assume that Tuna oil has been used for the fish oil (having higher DHA and lower EPA). Having worked with tuna oil, I can safely say it is difficult to work with and getting the taste right would have occupied the formulators for some time. And to some extent, they have done their job well. The tuna flavour is not overwhelming, but is still there.

One thing that did seem to glare out from the packaging was no statements about artificial colours, sweeteners or flavours. More and more people are steering away from synthetic in favour of natural or nature identical ingredients. I can only assume that artificial sweeteners and colours were used (and pretty evident by the intensity of the colours) - though the flavours are harder to judge.

It is nice to see the use of blister packing, which gives a better overall impression of the product

Strawberry flavour It was unfortunate that the first capsule I popped happened to be a leaky capsule. However, I should state leaky capsules are the exception rather than the norm and normally these would have been picked up and removed during sorting prior to blister packing.

However, notwithstanding this aberration, the rest of the capsules were fine. The smell of the capsule suggests some flavours have been used in the capsule too. The strawberry flavour was pronounced but not overwhelming. I was surprised the strawberry flavour hid the taste of the tuna as well as it did.

Blackcurrant Flavour in my opinion was the best flavour of the three. The taste was distinctly blackcurrant and masked the taste of the fish oil well. The length of taste was good and the sweetness was nicely balanced by a little acidity and nicely complemented by the dark colour of the capsule. Whether the capsule had some flavour (Vanillin?) was hard to judge but the overall effect is good and I know my daughter will finish this flavour off before the others.

Orange Flavour The brightness of the shell doesn't so much announce that it is an orange flavour - but screams it at the consumer. And probably too much when one looks at the softness of the pink used for the strawberry. However, the flavour is a good strong orange flavour, balanced well with sweetness and acidity that doesn't give that overly pronounce bitter after-taste that can occur if too much orange is used.

Overall, Bioglan have done a fine job of what they set out to do, and I know it is not easy to do this. So over-all, I commend them in their efforts to produce a great product that kids will enjoy.